Electrical switchgear equipment (sometimes just called switchgear or a switchboard) house very large and heavy circuit breakers that protect loads that can consume thousands of amps of current. The procedure for making or breaking the electrical connections inside the switchgear between the circuit breaker and connectors in the switchgear is referred to as racking. Racking such high-capacity circuit breakers is a procedure wrought with personal danger to the operator's safety. A possibility always exists that an explosion will occur due to an arc flash, causing significant injury, including burns, or even death to the operator. There are at least two ways to carry out a racking operation in a switchgear. One way is to mount the circuit breaker to rails in the switchgear, and slide the circuit breaker into and out of a cradle of the switchgear. A hand crank is typically used to urge primary connectors of the circuit breaker to corresponding connectors in the switchgear, which are electrically coupled to the line supply. Another way is to securely bolt the circuit breaker to a frame of the switchgear without mounting the circuit breaker on rails, and operating a disconnector that is positioned between the circuit breaker and fixed contacts in the switchgear for coupling to the line supply and optionally ground. The disconnector operates movable contacts that move in a linear or rotary fashion and that make or break electrical connections between primary connectors of the circuit breaker and corresponding connectors in the switchgear.
Existing techniques have attempted to keep the operator a distance away from the circuit breaker while racking it into or out of the switchgear equipment; however, the operator is still required to be present in the same room and sometimes remain in close proximity to the circuit breaker within the blast range of an arc flash hazard. For example, some existing racking systems require the operator to insert a hand crank into the disconnector to carry out a racking operation. This puts the operator dangerously right in front of the circuit breaker and in the blast zone of an arc flash. Moreover, when an operator is present in the room in which switchgear equipment is housed, the operator is required to don protective gear to protect against arc flashes and other electrical hazards.